Siyavar RamChandra ki... JAI !!!

April 15, 2006

Jai Maa, Jai Thakur(Ramakrishna), Jai Swamiji, Jai Bhakta Mandali(all

devotees),

It has been a week exactly, since the Sundar Kanda chanting at the

Devi Mandir. Thank you Maa and Swamiji for letting me attend the

gathering. I'm grateful for your love and kindness towards

this "naughty" child of yours. It is such ecstasy to be in presence of

an enlightened Master or Masters. You are all so lucky who are in

presence of Maa and Swamiji on a regular basis, my pranaams to all of

you. But one of Maa's devotees there conveyed to me that no matter

where you are at, the Mother sees you and your sadhana (spiritual

practices). So the rest of us, can have consolation in the fact that

Maa is with us wherever we are at, we just have to remain in that

understanding, but it always helps to have Her physical darshan .

Nandaji had shared with us last sunday one of her favorite quotes from

the Sundar Kanda and asked us to share ours. There are many parts of

the Sundar Kanda that I like, as Sundar Kanda means the Beautiful

Chapter. It is full of beauty and deep truths. Here is one quote from

Shree Ram (Consciousness) that stood out to me.

"Even he who has slain millions of learned people, if he takes refuge

in Me, I will not forsake him. Whatever life can come to face Me, his

sins of millions of births are destroyed. Sinners have an intrinsic

nature that they never find inclination to celebrate divinity. If

someone actually has evil in his heart, would it be possible for them

to come before Me ? Only those human beings who have a pure mind can

find Me. I do not accept deceitful cheaters (Mohi kapat chhal cheedra

naa bhaavaa)" (p. 111 of Swamiji's Sundar Kanda translation).

"But I have a vow to take away the fear of anyone who takes refuge

with me" (p. 110).

Such is the love of Shree Maa and Swamiji too, they have given refuge

to sinners such as me. Jai Maa, Jai Ramakrishna, Jai Swamiji.

Here is a beautiful story from one of Ramakrishna's direct disciples

(Girish Chandra Ghosh) as told in "They Lived with God" by Swami

Chetananda, which is an example of the Guru's Grace.

"One day Girish surrendered himself completely to the Master (Sri

Ramakrishna). He asked him for instruction as to what he should do

from then on. 'Do just what you are doing now', said Sri

Ramakrishna. 'Hold on to God with one hand and to the world with the

other. Think of God at least in the morning and the evening.' This

sounded simple to Girish; but then he recalled that his life was so

irregular that it would be hard for him to remember God at those

stated hours, so he kept quiet. Sri Ramakrishna read his mind and

said, 'Well, if you cannot do that, then remember God before you eat

and before you sleep'. But now Girish was reluctant to promise

anything to Sri Ramakrishna. He knew that, with his instinctive

resistance to self-discipline and rules, he might not be able to keep

even this simple observance. Then Sri Ramakrishna went into an

ecstatic mood and said to him: 'So you are unwilling to agree even to

this. All right. Give me your power of attorney (bakalma). Henceforth

I will take full responsibility for you. You won't have to do anything

at all."

"Girish was relieved. This sounded to his liking, for he understood

that Sri Ramakrishna had relieved him of all responsibility for his

own spiritual well-being and had made him free. But, in fact, he had

made himself Sri Ramakrishna's slave. Complete self-surrender is more

binding than the observance of strict disciplines. One day, soon after

this, Girish remarked in Sri Ramakrishna's presence, 'I shall do

this'. 'No, no', corrected Sri Ramakrishna. 'You can't talk like that

anymore. Say, "I shall do this if God wills" '. Girish began to

understand the mystery of the power of attorney. As time passed he

came to realize that he could not perform any action of his own free

will. He had to consciously surrender to the Divine Will, and

gradually he found that he was forced to think of the Master every

moment. In that later part of his life he would say: 'Look at me. I am

not even free to breathe'.

Such is the Grace of Masters such as Shree Maa and Swamiji, and Sri

Ramakrishna and Shree Ram. They have poured their grace upon their

children, who have come to Their shelter. Shree Maa sharanam mamah.

Jai Maa, Jai Ramakrishna, Jai Swamiji, Jai Bhakta Mandali.

baby tulsi

April 17, 2006

are at, we just have to remain in that understanding, but it always

helps to have Her physical darshan . Nandaji had shared with us

last sunday one of her favorite quotes from the Sundar Kanda and

asked us to share ours. There are many parts of the Sundar Kanda

that I like, as Sundar Kanda means the Beautiful Chapter. It is full

of beauty and deep truths. Here is one quote from Shree Ram

(Consciousness) that stood out to me."Even he who has slain millions

of learned people, if he takes refuge in Me, I will not forsake him.

Whatever life can come to face Me, his sins of millions of births are

destroyed. Sinners have an intrinsic nature that they never find

inclination to celebrate divinity. If someone actually has evil in

his heart, would it be possible for them to come before Me ? Only

those human beings who have a pure mind can find Me. I do not accept

deceitful cheaters

(Mohi kapat chhal cheedra naa bhaavaa)" (p. 111 of Swamiji's Sundar

Kanda translation). "But I have a vow to take away the fear of anyone

who takes refuge with me" (p. 110).Such is the love of Shree Maa and

Swamiji too, they have given refuge to sinners such as me. Jai Maa,

Jai Ramakrishna, Jai Swamiji. Here is a beautiful story from one of

Ramakrishna's direct disciples (Girish Chandra Ghosh) as told in

"They Lived with God" by Swami Chetananda, which is an example of the

Guru's Grace."One day Girish surrendered himself completely to the

Master (Sri Ramakrishna). He asked him for instruction as to what he

should do from then on. 'Do just what you are doing now', said Sri